Combination plush slipper with integral dressable character

ABSTRACT

A slipper having a sole and a foot covering that transforms into a toy play character by coupling the sole to the foot covering. The toy character may take the form of an animal, a human figure, or an imaginary, or abstract character, or other object. The transforming slipper toy may be made of plush material and having a head and torso extending upward from the foot covering. Conveniently, the character can be dressable where the toy clothing item can be coupled to the character using Velcro.RTM., button or snap fasteners, hooks, a zipper.RTM. or string. The sole may also have a pocket for receiving a heel portion of the sole whereby the sole and the foot covering are united.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser.No. 60/712,464, filed Aug. 30, 2005, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates generally to plush toys and plush clothing itemssuch as plush slippers and, more particularly, to dressable plushslippers.

2. Background Art

Novelty slippers may take on the shape or part of the shape of an animalor other character. These slippers may bear the face along with floppyears or other features of the character. Typically novelty shoes of thiscategory include the main body of the slipper where the foot of thewearer is inserted and on the top portion of the toe portion of theslipper, the head portion of a plush toy teddy-bear character or othercharacter is integrally stitched thereon. These type of novelty slipperscan be designed for use as an actual house-slipper for a child or anadult. Such a novelty slipper can also be designed to be placed on thefoot portion of a plush toy character so that the owner of the toy candress the toy character. Alternatively the slipper may take the bodyshape of the entire character and the foot of the wearer is insertedinto that character body. Typically, the wearer's foot will be insertedinto the back of the character's body.

However, none of these known slippers allows the owner of the slipper tovary the dress or costume of the integral character, particularly inrecognition of certain special events such as the celebration of a birthdate or holiday or to express various themes or display slogans or otherverbiage, thereby changing the outward appearance of character for thegiven occasion or event or theme.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In accordance with this invention, there is provided a dressable slippertoy having a sole and a foot covering and integral character. Theslipper has coupling means for uniting a sole portion of the slipperwith the foot covering portion of the slipper where the foot coveringportion can have an opening so that a can foot access the interiorcavity of the slipper that can be closed like a low top shoe or a hightop boot/bootie covering the ankle of the wearer. The foot covering canalso have the back portion of the foot covering open with the heelportion of the sole fully exposed to allow the foot of the wearer toeasily slide into the slipper. On the top portion of the toe portion ofthe foot covering, a torso and head portion of a toy character can beintegrally connected thereto and the torso portion can project upwardabove the foot covering and the torso portion of the toy character canfurther include articulated appendages extending from the torso of thetoy character.

The torso and head portion of the toy character can be designed to allowthe owner to remove and change the toy clothing of character such thatthe slipper is a dressable slipper or a slipper with an integraldressable character. The articulated appendages and toy clothing of thetoy character can be the designed such that the clothing has areleasable back seam and openings operable for inserting the appendagesthere through. The back seam of the toy clothing can be for example areleasable Velcro seam such that the back of the toy clothing can befully opened and the clothing can then be draped about the toycharacter, inserting the appendages through the openings of the toyclothing, then reattaching the releasable seam. This type of replaceabledoll clothing can be readily understood by one skilled in the art area.The Velcro releasable seam can be any other releasable seam such as azipper and still remain within the scope of the invention.

The head portion of the toy character can also be designed with variousappendages such as floppy ears or hair such that toy head covering itemscan be removable replaced such as hats or ribbons. For example, hats orcaps can have openings for inserting the appendages extending from thehead there through. For example, ribbons could also be attached to theappendages of the head.

One embodiment of the invention is a slipper having a sole and a footcovering upper portion where a toy play character head and torso extendsupward from the foot covering. The toy character may take the form of ananimal, a human figure, or an imaginary, or abstract character, or otherobject. The slipper may be made of plush material or other appropriatesoft pliable material. The torso can have articulated appendagesextending there from. This novelty slipper invention has the advantageof allowing the owner to dress their slipper or the slipper for a plushdoll for a given occasion or event.

These and other advantageous features of the present invention will bein part apparent and in part pointed out herein below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may bemade to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front-side perspective view of a dressable slipper;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a dressable slipper;

FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of a dressable slipper;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a dressable slipper;

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of a dressable slipper;

FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of a dressable slipper without anankle covering portion;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of a dressable slipper;and

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

According to the embodiment(s) of the present invention, various viewsare illustrated in FIG. 1-16 and like reference numerals are being usedconsistently throughout to refer to like and corresponding parts of theinvention for all of the various views and figures of the drawing. Also,please note that the first digit(s) of the reference number for a givenitem or part of the invention should correspond to the Fig. number inwhich the item or part is first identified.

One embodiment of the present invention comprising a slipper and anintegral dressable torso portion of a character teaches a novelinvention for a novelty house slipper that is variably dressable inrecognition of events of interest and to display various themes. Thedressable slipper comprising: a sole portion; a foot covering portionattached to the sole portion defining a cavity for receiving a wearer'sfoot where the foot covering portion has an opening for inserting awearer's foot there through and into the cavity; a character having ahead and torso integrally attached to the foot covering portionextending upward from a toe portion of the foot covering and where saidtorso having articulate appendages extending from said torso andarticulately attached to said torso; and a toy clothing item having areleasable back seam and openings sufficiently sized to receive theappendages there through, where said clothing item is draped andattached about the torso by detaching the releasable seam, inserting theappendages through the openings, draping the clothing item about thetorso from front to rear and reattaching the releasable seam along therear of the torso.

The details of the invention and various embodiments can be betterunderstood by referring to the figures of the drawing. Referring to FIG.1, a front side perspective view is shown of a dressable slipper. Thedressable slipper 100 is shown having a sole portion 102 and an upperfoot covering shell portion 104 attached to the sole portion 102 therebydefining a inner cavity (not shown) for covering the foot of a wearer.The foot covering portion 104 further comprises a rear foot coveringportion 106 and a front foot covering portion 108 and further an anklecovering portion 107 and a toe portion 110. The embodiment shown definesa boot-like for booty-like covering of the foot and ankle portion of thewearer thereby forming a slipper. Alternative configurations of theslipper can be possible. For example, the front portion 108 and the toeportion 110 can have an opening such that the slipper becomes an opentoe slipper. Further, the rear portion of the slipper 106 can be removedsuch that the slipper is an open heal slipper. Further, the anklecovering portion 107 could be removed as shown in FIG. 7 such that itforms a typical shoe covering rather than a boot covering as shown inFIG. 1. The dressable slipper 100 is further shown with a dressablecharacter 112 integrally attached to the foot covering portion 104 ofthe slipper. The dressable character 112 shown is that of a teddy bear,however, any other dressable toy character could be utilized. Thedressable toy character 112 is shown having a torso portion 114 andfurther having a head portion 116. The head and torso portions of thetoy character extend upward from the toe portion 110 of the footcovering. The torso further has appendages 118 and 120 extendingtherefrom. The front portion 108 of the slipper can further haveadditional appendages extending therefrom such as that representative ofa foot or leg.

Referring to FIG. 2, a front perspective view of the dressable slipper100 is shown. The front perspective view in FIG. 2 further reveals thefront portion 108 of the foot covering 104. As indicated above, thefront portion 108 can further have additional frontal appendagesextending therefrom such as that representative of legs or feet. Thetorso portion 114 of the toy character 112 is shown extending upwardfrom the toe portion 110 of the foot covering. The torso portion 114further has articulating appendages 118 and 120 extending outwardly fromthe torso portion 114. The appendages 118 and 120 as shown in FIG. 2 arerepresentative of arms for the toy character. However, the appendagescan be any other outwardly extending appendages such as wings. Theappendages 118 and 120 are articulately attached as shown by thearticulating joints 202 and 200. The toy character 112 is shown with anarticle of clothing 204 draped thereabout. The article of clothing 204as shown in FIG. 2 is that of a simple t-shirt. However, the article ofclothing 204 could be any other article of clothing that would typicallybe draped about the torso of a character such as that of a dress orjacket. The article of clothing can also have some decorative indiciarecognizing a particular occasion or event. The article of clothing 204is shown with openings 206 and 208. The article of clothing is drapedabout the toy character 112 by inserting the appendages 118 and 120through the openings 208 and 206 respectively of the article of clothing204. The article of clothing 204 can be draped from front to rear orfrom the rear to the front.

Referring to FIG. 3, a side perspective view of the dressable slipper100 is shown. The side perspective view further reveals the anklecovering portion 107 and opening 300 for inserting wearer's foot therethrough. The dressable slipper and the opening 300 can be sufficientlysized to accommodate the foot of the wearer. As indicated above, thisdressable slipper can be sufficiently sized for a child or adult humanwearer. Further, the dressable slipper 100 can be sufficiently sized anddesigned for a toy character. For example, the dressable slipper can besized and designed to be inserted about the foot of a toy character suchas a teddy bear.

Referring to FIG. 4, a top view of the dressable slipper 100 is shown.The top view further reveals the opening 300 for insertion of thewearer's foot. As indicated above, the rear portion 106 and the anklecovering portion 107 of the foot covering can be removed such that theslipper is an open heel slipper. Further, the top view revealsadditional appendages 400 and 402 extending from the head portion 116 ofthe toy character. As indicated above, the appendages 400 and 402 can beutilized to attach various head gear clothing such as a cap or ribbon.Other appendages extending from the head portion 116 can also beaccommodated such as hair or horns.

Referring to FIG. 5, a rear perspective view of the dressable slipper100 is shown. The rear perspective view of FIG. 5 further reveals theankle covering portion 107 and rear portion 106 of the foot coveringportion 104. The rear perspective view of FIG. 5 also reveals thereleasable seam 500 and the rear of the article of clothing 204. Thereleasable seam can be a Velcro seam or other releasable seam such as azipper. As shown, the article of clothing 204 is straight from front torear about the toy character such that the article of clothing 204 isdraped about the torso of the toy character by inserting the appendages118 and 120 through the openings 206 and 208 and draping the article ofclothing about the rear and re-attaching the releasable seam 500. FIG. 7further reveals the complete releasable seam 500 as well as showing analternative foot covering having an opening 700 that does not comprisethe ankle covering portion 107. FIG. 6 reveals the bottom of the soleportion of the dressable slipper.

The various dressable slipper examples shown above illustrate a novelinvention for a novelty slipper for a human wearer or for use with a toydoll or toy character such as a teddy bear. A user of the presentinvention may choose any of the above dressable slipper embodiment, oran equivalent thereof, depending upon the desired application. In thisregard, it is recognized that various forms of the subject dressableslipper invention could be utilized without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention.

As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of thepresent invention are not limited by the particular details of theexamples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that othermodifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur tothose skilled in the art. It is accordingly intended that the claimsshall cover all such modifications and applications that do not departfrom the sprit and scope of the present invention.

Other aspects, objects and advantages of the present invention can beobtained from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appendedclaims.

1. A dressable slipper comprising: a sole portion; a foot covering upperportion attached to the sole portion defining a cavity for receiving awearer's foot where the foot covering upper portion has an opening forinserting a wearer's foot there through and into the cavity; a characterhaving a head and torso integrally attached to the foot covering upperportion extending upward from a toe portion of the foot covering upperportion and where said torso having articulate appendages extending fromsaid torso and articulately attached to said torso; and a toy clothingitem having a releasable back seam and openings sufficiently sized toreceive the appendages there through, where said clothing item is drapedand attached about the torso by detaching the releasable seam, insertingthe appendages through the openings, draping the clothing item about thetorso from a front portion to a rear portion of the torso andreattaching the releasable seam along the rear of the torso.
 2. Theslipper as recited in claim 1, where the character is a stuffed plushanimal.
 3. The slipper as recited in claim 1, where the articulateappendages extending from the torso are representative of arms and thetoy clothing item is a shirt.
 4. A dressable slipper comprising: a soleportion; a foot covering upper portion attached to the sole portiondefining a cavity for receiving a wearer's foot where the foot coveringupper portion has an opening for inserting a wearer's foot there throughand into the cavity; a character having a torso integrally attached tothe foot covering upper portion extending upward from a toe portion ofthe foot covering upper portion and where said torso having articulateappendages extending from said torso and articulately attached to saidtorso; and a toy shirt clothing item having a releasable back seam andopenings sufficiently sized to receive the appendages there through,where said clothing item is draped and attached about the torso bydetaching the releasable seam, inserting the appendages through theopenings, draping the clothing item about the torso from a front portionto a rear portion of the torso and reattaching the releasable seam alongthe rear of the torso.
 5. The slipper as recited in claim 4, where thecharacter is a stuffed plush animal.
 6. The slipper as recited in claim4, where the articulate appendages extending from the torso arerepresentative of arms and the toy clothing item is a shirt havingdecorative indicia.
 7. A dressable slipper comprising: a sole portion; afoot covering upper portion attached to the sole portion defining acavity for receiving a wearer's foot where the foot covering upperportion has an opening for inserting a wearer's foot there through andinto the cavity; a character having a head and torso integrally attachedto the foot covering upper portion extending upward from a toe portionof the foot covering upper portion and where said torso havingarticulate appendages extending from said torso and articulatelyattached to said torso and frontal articulate appendages extending froma front portion of the toe portion and articulately attached to thefront portion with frontal articulating joints; and a first toy clothingitem having a releasable back seam and first openings sufficiently sizedto receive the appendages there through, where said first clothing itemis draped and attached about the torso by detaching the releasable seam,inserting the appendages through the first openings, draping theclothing item about the torso from a front portion to a rear portion ofthe torso and reattaching the releasable seam along the rear of thetorso; and a second toy clothing item having second openingssufficiently sized to receive the frontal appendages there through,where said second clothing item is draped and attached about the frontalappendages by inserting the appendages through the second openings. 8.The slipper as recited in claim 7, where the character is a stuffedplush animal.
 9. The slipper as recited in claim 7, where the articulateappendages extending from the torso are representative of arms and thefirst toy clothing item is a shirt and the second toy clothing item is apair of pants.
 10. A dressable slipper comprising: a sole portion; afoot covering upper portion attached to the sole portion defining acavity for receiving a wearer's foot where the foot covering upperportion has an opening for inserting a wearer's foot there through andinto the cavity; a character having a head and torso integrally attachedto the foot covering upper portion extending upward from a toe portionof the foot covering upper portion and where said torso having firstarticulate appendages extending from said torso and articulatelyattached to said torso and second articulate appendages extending fromthe head of the character and articulately attached to the head withhead articulating joints; and a first toy clothing item having areleasable back seam and first openings sufficiently sized to receivethe appendages there through, where said first clothing item is drapedand attached about the torso by detaching the releasable seam, insertingthe appendages through the first openings, draping the clothing itemabout the torso from a front portion to a rear portion of the torso andreattaching the releasable seam along the rear of the torso; and asecond toy clothing item having second openings sufficiently sized toreceive the head appendages there through, where said second clothingitem is draped and attached about the head appendages by inserting thehead appendages through the second openings.
 11. The slipper as recitedin claim 10, where the character is a stuffed plush animal.
 12. Theslipper as recited in claim 10, where the articulate appendagesextending from the torso are representative of arms and the first toyclothing item is a shirt and the second toy clothing item is a cap.